Patrick Comerford
We are still in the season of Christmas, which is a 40-day season and it ends not today, the Feast of the Epiphany (6 January), but continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February).
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, although many parishes and churches may have held their celebrations of Epiphany yesterday (Sunday 5 January 2025), with the traditional Epiphany ‘chalking’ of the church doors.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSVA):
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel”.’
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Today’s Reflection:
The Gospel reading this morning (Matthew 2: 1-12) recalls the story of the visit of the Magi, one of the three Gospel stories associated with Epiphany. The other two traditional Epiphany are the Baptism of Christ, which we read about next Sunday (Epiphany I, 12 January 2025, Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22), and the Wedding at Cana, which we read about the following Sunday (Epiphany II, 19 January 2025, John 2: 1-11).
These days after Christmas can be a letdown for many people. For weeks, sometimes months, in advance, we had been preparing for the dawning of that one single day.
We write Christmas cards, draw up lists, go shopping, wrap the gifts, put up the tree and the decorations, listen to carols and Christmas songs, wear Christmas jumpers and Santa hats, go to office parties, plan family meals, bring in the holly and the ivy, and light candles on the Advent wreath.
Then Christmas Day comes and goes in 24 hours, just like any other day.
Then what?
Few notice that yesterday was the twelfth day of Christmas. Fewer still realise that the Christmas season includes today’s important Feast of the Epiphany and that it continues until the Feast of the Presentation or Candlemas on 2 February.
By now, the decorations are down, the cards have been binned, the trees have been recycled, the presents have been used and put away, and for some these days are some sort of anticlimax.
The angels, the shepherds and the magi are ‘yesterday’s men.’ What are we to do?
Some of the best answers are provided in the poem ‘The Work of Christmas’, written by Howard Thurman (1899-1981), an African-American theologian, academic and civil rights leader, and included in his book The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations (1973):
The Work of Christmas, by Howard Thurman:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart.
Today’s Prayers (Monday 6 January 2025, the Epiphany):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Melanesian Brotherhood Centenary’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a Programme Update by Ella Sibley, Regional Manager for Europe and Oceania, USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 6 January 2025, the Epiphany) invites us to pray:
Almighty God, as we celebrate the Epiphany and the revealing of Christ’s light to the nations, we give thanks for the Melanesian Brotherhood and their century of faithful witness. We remember especially the martyrs who, like the Magi, followed your call and gave their lives in the service of peace.
The Collect:
O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
mercifully grant that we,
who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord God,
the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
may we who with the wise men have been drawn by your light
discern the glory of your presence in your Son,
the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Creator of the heavens,
who led the Magi by a star
to worship the Christ-child:
guide and sustain us,
that we may find our journey’s end
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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